Almond Cake with a Cashew and Almond Praline Topping

This delicious cake was inspired by a Toscakaka a cake that I wrote about during the Great Bloggers Bake Off. The original idea came from the fantastic Scandilicious Baking by Signe Johansen. This book is full from cover to back of divine cakes and bakes!

As soon as we tried the Toscakaka we all fell in love with it!

In this cake I have adapted the cake more to our tastes. I have baked a different sponge to last time and have used cashews in the topping which give the cake such fantastic flavours.

This is what I did...

Almond Cake with a Cashew and Almond Praline Topping

Ingredients

Cake

150g baking spread
150g caster sugar
125g self raising flour
50g ground almonds
3 eggs

Topping

100g cashews
50g flaked almonds
125g light muscovado sugar
125g butter
1tbsp milk

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180C

1 - Mix together the baking spread and caster sugar until light and creamy

2 - Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, along with a little flour to prevent curdling

3 - Mix in the remaining flour and ground almonds

4 - Put the mixture into a prepared loose bottomed cake tin and place in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is firm and golden

5 - 5 minutes before the cake is ready start to prepare the praline topping by gently melting the butter and light muscovado sugar together

6 - Once they have come to the boil reduce the heat to a simmer and add the cashews and almond flakes

7 - Leave to simmer for about 5 minutes to allow the praline to thicken, remember to stir regularly!

8 - Remove the cake from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 220C

9 - Pour the nut praline over the top of the cake and gently return it to the oven and bake for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until the praline is starting to hardened and is golden

10 - Remove from the oven and run a pallet knife around the edge of the tin to prevent the praline sticking

11 - Leave to cool in the tin for about 20 - 30 minutes then continue to cool on a cooling tray

This cake is so deliciously moreish it will keep you wanting more! The crispy nut topping combined with the soft sponge is a delightful combination. We all absolutely adore this cake and it has even been called my "best ever cake!" which I take a huge compliment!

Enjoy x